Airline's current deicing methods are resource intensive. Air carriers can be fined significantly per passenger by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) if domestic departure delays exceed a certain number of hours. Average delay/cancellation costs may be significant per cancellation. Furthermore, snowstorms can cost air carriers millions of dollars a year as delays and cancellations can ripple across flight schedules stranding thousands of passengers in airport terminals.
Ethylene glycol antifreeze is currently used as Aircraft Deicing Fluid (ADF), however, the U.S. environmental protection agency (EPA) has classified glycol as a regulated industrial process (e.g., in wastewater) under NPDES 40 CFR Part 122. Seven billion gallons of aircraft deicing fluid storm water are generally generated per year (according to EPA 821-R-00-016), and capital costs of a glycol recovery system may be a significant cost per airport (according to EPA 832-F-99-043). Glycols can consume oxygen and can lead to non-optimal oxygen levels in aquatic systems, and corrosion inhibitors and surfactants present in deicing fluids may create a non-optimal environment for fish and other aquatic organisms. There is an ongoing industry wide effort to research alternate or complementary methods for deicing aircraft flight surfaces.